Water and ethanol are the major components in alcoholic beverages. Typically, multiple minor components are also present that are responsible for the characteristic flavor and aroma of the beverages; these minor components are sometimes referred to collectively as congeners. There have been many attempts to process the beverages further after they are produced. Such processing may be aimed at decreasing the ethanol content to obtain low-alcohol beverages. Alternatively, another objective might be to increase the ethanol content of the beverage. Yet another objective is to enhance the intensity of the beverages by increasing the concentration of the congeners. In cases where the objective is to adjust the alcohol content of the beverage, it is desirable to retain as much of the flavor and aroma compounds as possible in order that the character of the beverage remains substantially unchanged. Before discovery of the present invention, however, none of the above-stated objectives was possible without the loss of significant amounts of native volatile components, including water, alcohol and congeners during the implementation of a process intended to reduce the presence of one of these volatile components.